This Ranger With Eight Deployments, Is the 2nd Living MOH Recipient Since Nam

By Katie Lange, DOD  Army.mil

After enlisting in 1999,  Petry joined the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. There, he completed the Basic Airborne Course and the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program and was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.

Petry’s heroic story began on May 26, 2008, when he and his team were assigned a mission in Afghanistan’s Paktia Province. Petry, the senior noncommissioned officer, was supposed to go to platoon headquarters. However, he realized one of the assault squads needed some assistance with clearing their assigned building. Taking initiative, he informed the platoon leader that he was moving to the squad help them. Petry took fellow Ranger Pfc. Lucas Robinson with him to clear the outer courtyard.

Once they got there, the two crossed the area, and an enemy insurgent fired on them with an AK-47 from about 10 yards away. Petry was shot in both of his legs, and Robinson was hit in his side plate. Although severely wounded, Petry attempted to lead Robinson to safety by a chicken coop as the enemy continued to fire at them.

Petry reported to Sgt. Daniel Higgins that there had been enemy contact and that he and Robinson were wounded. Higgins, a team leader, then moved to the outer courtyard to help. Petry threw a grenade in the vicinity of the enemy position, which created a brief silence in enemy fire, so Higgins was able to tend to the two wounded soldiers.

While taking cover, enemy fighters began throwing grenades as fellow Rangers headed toward the area to assist. One landed right in front of Higgins and Robinson. So Petry, already wounded, picked up the grenade and threw it away from his fellow Rangers. However, as he was releasing the grenade, it detonated, destroying his right hand.

Higgins later wrote in a statement, “If not for Staff Sgt. Petry’s actions, we would have been seriously wounded or killed.” It’s safe to say his gallantry would not go unnoticed.

President Barack Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to Petry in 2011.

Petry could have retired with honors. Instead, he chose to re-enlist, despite his continuing struggle with his battle wounds. He went on to become a liaison officer for the U.S. Special Operations Command Care Coalition’s Northwest Region, working as an advocate for wounded warriors, ill and injured special operators and their families. Throughout his career, he was deployed eight times – two supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and six supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Petry retired as master sergeant in July 2014.

MOH  2011

THE PRESIDENT:

So today is only the second time during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq – indeed, only the second time since Vietnam – that a recipient of the Medal of Honor from an ongoing conflict has been able to accept this medal in person.

Leroy, the Medal of Honor reflects the deepest gratitude of our entire nation. So we’re joined by members of Congress; Vice President Biden; leaders from across my administration, including Deputy Secretary of Defense Bill Lynn; and leaders from across our Armed Forces, including the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Jim “Hoss” Cartwright, Army Secretary John McHugh, and Army Chief of Staff General Marty Dempsey.

Today, we honor a singular act of gallantry. Yet as we near the 10th anniversary of the attacks that thrust our nation into war, this is also an occasion to pay tribute to a soldier, and a generation, that has borne the burden of our security during a hard decade of sacrifice.

I want to take you back to the circumstances that led to this day. It’s May 26, 2008, in the remote east of Afghanistan, near the mountainous border of Pakistan. Helicopters carrying dozens of elite Army Rangers race over the rugged landscape. And their target is an insurgent compound. The mission is high risk. It’s broad daylight. The insurgents are heavily armed. But it’s considered a risk worth taking because intelligence indicates that a top al Qaeda commander is in that compound.

Soon, the helicopters touch down, and our Rangers immediately come under fire. Within minutes, Leroy – then a Staff Sergeant – and another soldier are pushing ahead into a courtyard, surrounded by high mud walls. And that’s when the enemy opens up with their AK-47s. Leroy is hit in both legs. He’s bleeding badly, but he summons the strength to lead the other Ranger to cover, behind a chicken coop. He radios for support. He hurls a grenade at the enemy, giving cover to a third Ranger who rushes to their aid. An enemy grenade explodes nearby, wounding Leroy’s two comrades. And then a second grenade lands – this time, only a few feet away.

Every human impulse would tell someone to turn away. Every soldier is trained to seek cover. That’s what Sergeant Leroy Petry could have done. Instead, this wounded Ranger, this 28-year-old man with his whole life ahead of him, this husband and father of four, did something extraordinary. He lunged forward, toward the live grenade. He picked it up. He cocked his arm to throw it back.

What compels such courage? What leads a person to risk everything so that others might live? For answers, we don’t need to look far. The roots of Leroy’s valor are all around us.

. We see it in the loyalty of an Army Ranger who lives by a creed: “Never shall I fail my comrades.” Or as Leroy puts it, “These are my brothers – family just like my wife and kids – and you protect the ones you love.” And that’s what he did that day when he picked up that grenade and threw it back – just as it exploded.

With that selfless act, Leroy saved his two Ranger brothers, and they are with us today. His valor came with a price. The force of the blast took Leroy’s right hand. Shrapnel riddled his body. Said one of his teammates, “I had never seen someone hurt so bad.” So even his fellow Rangers were amazed at what Leroy did next. Despite his grievous wounds, he remained calm. He actually put on his own tourniquet. And he continued to lead, directing his team, giving orders – even telling the medics how to treat his wounds.

When the fight was won, as he lay in a stretcher being loaded onto a helicopter, one of his teammates came up to shake the hand that Leroy had left. “That was the first time I shook the hand of someone who I consider to be a true American hero,” that Ranger said. Leroy Petry “showed that true heroes still exist and that they’re closer than you think.”

That Ranger is right. Our heroes are all around us. They’re the millions of Americans in uniform who have served these past 10 years, many -— like Leroy -— deploying tour after tour, year after year. On the morning of 9/11, Leroy was training to be a Ranger, and as his instructor got the terrible news, they told Leroy and his class, “Keep training, you might be going to war.” Within months Leroy was in Afghanistan for the first of seven deployments since 9/11.

Leroy speaks proudly of the progress our troops have made -— Afghan communities now free from the terror of the Taliban and Afghan forces that are taking more responsibility for their security. And he carries with him the memories of Americans who have made the ultimate sacrifice to make this progress possible.

Earlier in the Oval Office, Leroy gave me the extraordinary privilege of showing me the small plaque that is bolted to his prosthetic arm. On it are the names of the fallen Rangers from the 75th Regiment. They are, quite literally, part of him, just as they will always be part of America.

One of those names is of the Ranger who did not come back from the raid that day – Specialist Christopher Gathercole. Christopher’s brother and sister and grandmother are here with us today. I would ask that they stand briefly so that we can show our gratitude for their family’s profound sacrifice. (Applause.)

Profile

Leroy A. Petry

Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry is currently assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga. with duties as a liaison officer for the United States Special Operations Command Care Coalition—Northwest Region, providing oversight to wounded warriors, ill and injured service members and their families.

He was born in 1979 in New Mexico.

After graduating from Saint Catherine’s Indian High School in May 1998, Petry spent the next year working with his father and grandfather at Pecos Public Transportation working in the maintenance department and making signs at AI Signs.

In September 1999, Petry enlisted in the United States Army from his hometown in New Mexico, something he wanted to do since he was 7-years-old. Petry then volunteered for the 75th Ranger Regiment because of its reputable history.

After completion of One Station Unit Training, the Basic Airborne Course and the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program – all at Fort Benning – Petry was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He served as a grenadier, squad automatic rifleman, fire team leader, squad leader, operations sergeant and a weapons squad leader.

He has deployed eight times in support of overseas contingency operations with two tours to Iraq and six tours to Afghanistan.

At the time of the May 26, 2008 combat engagement, Petry was a Staff Sergeant Squad Leader assigned to Co. D, 2nd Bn., 75th Ranger Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Petry plans to retire from the Army after many more years of service. Petry enjoys serving in the Army, and has a great opportunity to work with the care coalition; in his words, “If I can’t go to the fight, I can help the men who are wounded, injured or ill.”

His military education includes the Basic Airborne Course, Combat Life Saver Course, U.S. Army Ranger Course, Warrior Leader Course, Jumpmaster Course, Advanced Leader Course, Senior Leader Course and Combatives Level One Course.

His awards and decorations include the Ranger Tab, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Expert Infantryman’s Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge, the Parachutist Badge and Canadian Jump Wings.

He has also been awarded two Bronze Star Medals, a Purple Heart, three Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, Valorous Unit Award, three Army Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Combat Star, Iraq Campaign Medal with Combat Star, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Non-commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon with numeral 3, Overseas Service Ribbon and the Army Service Ribbon.

Petry and his wife have four children. His father lives in Pecos, N.M., and his mother lives in Bernalillo, N.M. Petry has four brothers and when he is not spending time with his family, he enjoys golf, pheasant hunting and fishing. He is currently attending Pierce College at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., with plans for a Bachelor of Science degree in business management.